Here in Revelation 6:9 we see people in heaven looking forward to when God will finally bring justice upon the earth. They are conscious of what is happening and yet they are disembodied, they are souls. Many Christians assume that when they die, they will live forever as disembodied spirits in a spiritual heaven like we see here in Revelation 6. It is important to note, therefore, that this isn’t the final state. These ‘souls’ are looking forward to the day of judgement which is also when all the dead will be raised (1 Corinthians 15). After that time, as we will see, we will spend forever in resurrected bodies on a renewed earth. In the meantime, however, when we die, we go to heaven to be with Jesus to await the resurrection. So, Paul speaks of being ‘away from the body and at home with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8). Theologians refer to this as the ‘intermediate state’. Think about this. You will die relatively soon. And when you die you will join these saints in heaven. You will wait here in the presence of your saviour for the great day of the resurrection when God will raise up and judge the inhabitants of the earth (John 5:28-29). This day is often referred to in the Bible as the day of God’s wrath, because on this day God’s anger over injustice will be fully expressed. This is the same just anger that was atoned for by Jesus on the cross. He took that punishment in our place so that, when this day comes, we will not be condemned but released into a new and glorious creation.
Thank God for what he did for you in Jesus Christ.
Read Revelation 6:9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:21-28
